Wind elf
The Wind Elves (Ashtari: Wind Elfe, Elfskrit: Amesha) are a genus of elves. Biology The Wind elves look quite different compared to their ancestors and the Asha who the most look like the elves of old. They are fair of skin where once all elves had grey skin. They do not tan as the humans do except for those descended of the Erdeicken tribe, though they only tan slightly. How the elves are able to cope with the strong sun of warmer climates are a mystery that the biologists of the Lektor's Assembly seeks to shed light upon. The hair colour of the Wind elves are categorized into four groups. *The Light haired, a multitude of blondish colours. From white and silver to golden blond and dark blond. About 53% of all wind elves falls into this category. *The Raven haired, coloured pitch black. About 18% of all wind elves falls into this category. *The Earthen haired, a wide palette of brownish colours, even some with rich auburn. About 20% of all wind elves fall into this category. *Last are the God touched. Two coloures make up this category. The bluish haired who are said to be touched by Zethus and the very rare brightly red haired who are said to be touched by Mohira. They make up 8% and 1% of all wind elves. Reproduction Not only the appearence differentiates the different breeds of elves. The Wind elves have a very unique biology when it comes to sexual maturity. When other races and species mature bodily they also become able to procreate. Not so the Wind elves. Their body matures but not the urges and needs. Instead they begin to emit a unique pheromone when in the presence of other Wind elves. When two wind elves of different sex meet and inhale each others pheromones their body react to it, checking to see if the other elf suits themselves. If not they cease to emit pheromones, their bodies sexuality continuing to rest until the moment they meet a good match. Once two elves find a good match and continues to be in each others presence on a regular basis, their sexuality awakens with all the urges and needs, their ability to procreate maturing. Such pairing usually last a life time, just like some species of swans and eagles. A Wind elf who loses his or her lifemate goes into a lifelong mourning, never again taking a new partner. Yet the awakened needs and urges does not die to the widow or widower, which is why the Houses of the Widower exist. They are the closest thing to a brothel among the wind elves, though the patrons working there are more like courtesans. They give comfort to those with a dead heart and weary soul.These courtesans are almost all followers of Mohira, who can bless her most devout followers to ignore the biology of their bodies. The most skilled of these disciples can alter their pheromone to shape itself after their customer so that it loosely resembles that of the lost spouse. Mythology In times before times, the gods of gods ruled the endless skies, joined through the ribbons of the motion or wind of creation. A young god of gods were born, her light the most perfect of lights. Sura she was named and all the gods of gods rejoiced at the brith of another of their siblings. As time passed she gave birth to many daughters, the most beautiful of daughters she named Solcu. Yet all were not well for the daughters. Many turned out barren, unable to bring forth children of their own. Only Solcu proved fertile as many a children were born and spread out all over her glory. The giants were the first, great beings of primordial power. Great and terrible, they tormented their mother. The mortal races sprang forth in the shadow of the giants, much death and destruction were given them by the giants. The plight and terror of the mortals brought forth the first of the gods, children of the giants. Rahman, god of light, stars and the sky and Heliset, goddess of death, darkness and mourning. They brought much peace to the mortals as they fought the giants. Other gods rose, foremost among them were Zethus, god of honour, justice, courage and lightning. Amatera, Mohira, Bhasr and many others rose to fight the giants. As the other gods fought it gave rest to Rahmam and Heliset. Heliset strove to give guidance to the fallen of the mortals, to give the living a chance at mourning their dead in peace. Through burning of the fallen they'd be freed from the chains of pain and suffering, being allowed peace. Rahman instead gazed upon the mortals and chose some of them to be the foremost of all mortals. They would be called Ashtari, children of the motion, also known as the elves. The Tribes Lichtzeiger Erdeicken Schwarzkronen Sturmboren Schwarzbogen Rödrosen Elbenvors Befreitsiel The Tribeless The Stale Elves (Ashtari: Schal Elfe) Those elves who follows the Trinity of Shadows are not considered as kin of the Wind elves but as a sub species of their own. Many of them hide in plain sight among the wind elves, plotting destruction and terror. It is the thralls of Arianrhod and Asmodis that infiltrate the cities and villages of the Wind elves as their faith only brings minor physical changes too them. The thralls of Shalangesh are a lot more easy to notice as the "gifts" of their gods bring horrible mutations and growths. Over the years the priesthood of Zethus has called into action against these vile creatures, forming an inquisition of their own lead by the elite martial order of Zethus, the Ten Thousand Thunders. History - Ancient time Once all elves were one people, living as one nation. A grey-skinned people of great grace and intellect. During the Age of Myths they fought alongside the dwarves and other mortal races against the giants and other chaotic, primordial beings.Victory was achieved which heralded the end of the Age of Myths and the dawn of a new era, a great golden era. The Era'thora kept the order of the golden era with the elves as their foremost allies. But the Era'thora faded away with time and the mortal races started guiding themselves. The elven empire rose to become the shining jewel of Solcu, their fabled capital of such beauty and perfection of form that even the gods wept tears of joy. They shared a great alliance and friendship with the half-giants who strived to continue the legacy form their forebears, the Era'thora. Together they engineered magi-tech that rivaled the great creations of the Era'thora, who never managed to recreate the legendary works of the Age of Myths. Yet all things comes to an end. The half-giants too started to fade away as their numbers dwindled. They withdrew from their elven allies, creating hidden sanctums in places hard to reach. The elves found themselves alone as a civilisation on Jebrak. They started to stagnate and become decadent. Some of them left the elven empire to seek their own path. Those who left drowned themselves in pleasure and enjoyments, forsaking the splendor they had achived alongside the half-giants. The Ashtari call it the Great Schism, when the once unified elven people became many and changed their appearences. Some called out to the gods for guidance but the gods had become more and more distant as their never ending conflict with the remaining primordial giants took up more and more of their attention. Yet one of the gods answered the desperate prayers, yet she had only treachery in mind. Arianrhod, once a beloved goddess of the Ashtari pantheon, betrayed her people. She had grown jealous of the other gods, becmong a shadow of herself, a twisted and hateful being. She schemed with a primordial giant from the Age if Myths, Shalangesh the Foul. They corrupted Asmodis, a once gentle god, with words of greed and power. He turned on everything he once stood for and became a blind and mad god who ruled over undeath and slavery. Together they plotted to sacrifice the goddess of the earth, Amatera What then commenced have been lost to time but for fragmented memories passed down as songs and folk tales. they did managed to murder the goddess. As she lay bleeding the other gods came with great anger but they realised that they had lost the faith of their people to those that would become the Trinity of Shadows. Weakened and powerless, they came under great pressure from the Trinity. It was then that Zethus, brother of Amatera who loved her more than a brother should, rose from his grief. He called out to the elves who who yet lived in the empire. At first none answered, corrupted and enslaved as they were by the Trinity. As he was about to lose all hope a single voice answered him. A male elf rose above his peers and cast of his chains. He basked in the glory of Zethus and became a vessel for his power, the first Valkyri. He went out to his breathren to spread words of justice and honour yet none listened. They attacked him and great were his wounds, his blood poured forth yet he strived on, healed by his conviction. Yet he was one and they were legion. As they closed in to finish him off they met opposition. Some had wakened from their enslavement and rose to defend the Valkyr. A great civil war errupted in the capital. Thousands of elves perished in the skirmishes, rives of blood running over the once pristine streets and walls, but the servants and slaves of the Trinity vastly outnumbered the stalwart and true elves. Though it was not in vain. This gave the remaining gods renewed strength and they pushed back the Trinity. They rescued the dying goddess and fled the fallen empire. Out unto the verdant plains they fleed, fertile farmlands, bountiful meadows and plains of grass. There they gathered to mourn as Amatera lay dying. It was then that the Valkyr strode fortth to where the goddess lay bleeding. He had become one with the powers of Zethus, his hair turned a vivi blue, his skin an alabaster white and his eyes had become pools of lightning. Arius the Noble he would be remembered as. He spoke to the gods, telling them that as he ascneded to become a Valkyr he realised a way to save the goddess, though the price would be high. He would act as conduit for all elves and through the union of himelf and the goddess would he be able to channel it all into healing her wounds which the other gods had been unable to heal. Though healed she would not be, rebirthed she would be instead. As a single will did the elves pour their faith and souls into Arius who joined with the goddess as one. As she healed through rebith did life leave Arius, who drew his last breath as hers grew steady and strong. As Amatera rose she fully understood what had been given. It was said that in ancient times the elves had been immortal, never dying of age. That immortality had been sacrificed along with Arius to give rebirth to Amatera. She cried out in great sorrow and of loss, the force of her grief manifested in a terrifying drought. The fertile lands desertified in mere moments and a sand storm formed, so large it turned day into night. The mighty storm fell upon the cities and capital of the empire, forever burying the corrupted and twisted slaves of the Trinity. Zethus gazed upon the elves who had given so much for his beloved sister and gave his blessing to them all, forever changing them from what they once were. The other gods also gave their blessings, giving the elves the apprearence they have today. Many scholars have wondered at this part of the folklore, questioning why the gods would have looked so different compared to their followers' original apprearence. Some instead claim that the Ashtari tribes changed in appearence during the great nomadic era. As they changed so too did how they viewed the gods. The Erdeicken were the main followers of Amatera and thus they would envision her as themselves: Earthen hair and eyes, tall of body and limb and the ability to tan slightly. Though one part most likely hold some truth and that is that Zethus blessed the Ashtari the most, which resulted in their pale complexion compared to the other elves as Zethus had been described since the Age of Myths as being as pale as white alabaster. -5000 The nomadic era -4100 The Grand Archipelago It was when they encountered the primitve and noble shamanistic orcs that some of the faiths changed. The way of dogma and a priesthood were cast away for a broader definition of the ways of the faith, lead by wise shaman. The wroshipers of Artise, Bhasr, Loraeis, Magnis and Amatera all cast away the old ways and embraced shamanism. The ones devoted to Rahman, Heliset, Zethus and Isuria kept the old priesthood while the followers of Mohira continued to be as chaotic as ever. -3600 The Divergence The many tribes of the Wind elves found themselves at a crossroad. They could either follow the archipelago westwards or eastwards on their northern path. They gathered for a last major gathering as they chose the fate of the tribes. Seven chose to go west while the others went east. The number of tribes who went east have been long lost to the wear of time. Forgotten by the westward tribes and purged by the Täjaran slavers. -3000 Founding of Windland -2000 The Täjaran Wars -600 The Little Wars -200 Unification of Windland Technology The Wind elves boast that they have the most advanced technology in the known world. It advanced in strides during the Little Wars as they learned to harness the power of steam. Now their steambased technology can be found all over the worlds thanks to the influence of the colonial cities. Humans who are enemies of Täjara are frequent customers of the Engineer's Union. Everything from primitive rifles to techlimbs which allows maimed warriors to be of use again. The techlimbs are among the inventions that the Union pride themselves with the most. An ingenious array of gears and parts controlled thorugh a complex pattern of magical runes which can be used as replacement for any lost arm or leg. The humans and other species pays their lost limb's weight in gold for a techlimb. Enormous steam engine installations powers the cities of Windland, enabling the Engineer's Union to innovate even more magnificent technology. The large steamships are rapidly replacing the old ships that relied only on sails and oars. These steamships uses the latest steam technology to propel themselves, aided by sails. Some of the most ingenious engineers belive that it's possible to achieve flight with the power of steam and a little bit of magic which would change the way wars are done for all eternity. So far it's just an ambitious idea but a handful have devoted their entire life to make it happen.The inventioned of the early rifle have changed the way the Wind elves fight, making the ancient use of spears and shields obsolete. Most research goes into combining technology and magic. To combine technology and magic has always been the most ambitious goal of most advanced sentient species as it's been proven to be vastly superior to anything technological or magical. The most legendary artifacts found from ancient times, even as far back as from the Age of Myths, are referred to as magitech. Untouched by time, they can perform what more primitive societies deem as miracles. Some scholars speculate that the ancient elven homeland had an abundance of magitech, probably developed together with the half-giants whose remote enclaves can be found all over the world. The only way to prove this hypothesis would be to find and excavate the buried complexes which is not without peril as folktales speak of terrors beyond elven imagination and elven imagination is as vast as the sky. Architecture Wind elven architecture follow four principals: Golden ratio, beauty, practicality and airy open spaces with a constant breeze. Wind, the motion of air or motion at all is the center point of wind elven philosophy and society. This has had the effect on their architecture that they prefer to build large airy buildings. Large rooms and corridors high of roof. Tall towers, mighty domes and enourmous halls. All built to accomodate a constant flow of air through the halls and rooms, simulating a slight breeze. Race Relations The other Elves: Asha: Friends Aingeleen: Revered Irasha: Enemies The Dwarves: Imperial: Friends Desert: Unfriendly Jungle: Neutral The Humans: Täjara: Eternal enemy Thama: Friends Blodtorstigor: Loathing and disgust The Leprechauns: Forest: Neutral Jungle: Friendly The Goblins: All these little critters: Mostly hostilities The Orcs: Island: Friendly Other: Neutral The Kaaradi: Below ground: Hostilities Urshari: Friendly to those in windland The Trolls: Feral: The Wind elves encountered feral trolls several times during the nomadic era and the experience have made them view the savages with contempt and hostility. When they claimed Windland they forced the native feral troll tribes towards the wild forests of the east and into the dangerous lands in the west: The Dread lowlands by the Dread Sea.. City: Neutral The Aldash: Neutral The Dracon: Great friends The Ogres: Neutral but souring. The ogres do not take kindly to the elves claiming the northern island for themselves, eventhough the ogres had no presence nor interest in the island. Elf Category: Elves Category: Wind elves